


Can't Sleep Without You

by shitpickle



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Armin is clingy, Fluff, M/M, Mike just wants to sleep, Modern AU, Skype, cute boyfriends, what is this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-08
Updated: 2014-02-08
Packaged: 2018-01-11 14:20:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1174095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shitpickle/pseuds/shitpickle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Armin doesn't want to sleep without Mike next to him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Can't Sleep Without You

**Author's Note:**

> short little drabble thing. modern au. mikemin's a thing. don't try to tell me otherwise. yes armin's age has been altered to nineteen jesus get off meeeee. unedited because i just needed to get this out there. dedicated to the only other shipper out there tbh you know who you are, pitshickle.

Armin glances at the time in the lower right corner of his computer screen. It’s currently 3:47 in the morning and his eyelids feel like they’re attached to anvils, but he stays awake as he stares at the slightly grainy face on his screen that must mirror how tired he looks. He’d been talking to Mike since ten o’clock and had only gotten up to use the bathroom or get coffee ice cream to satisfy a sudden craving. Mike hadn’t gotten up all that much either, sitting back in his chair as he clicks around on whatever he’s doing. Sometimes they lapse into conversation stemming from a comment on something one of the two had seen on their screens. Sometimes they share tidbits about their day, about the people who’d gotten on their nerves, or what their plans were for the next day. Armin craves Mike’s constant company and murmured ‘I love you’s and gentle smiles more than anything else nowadays.

He yawns against the back of his hand before leaning his cheek in his palm, scrolling through a site dedicated to photography and humming softly in approval when he comes across something exceptional. “It’s weird how a cat sitting on a stack of books can look so surreal,” he says quietly, clicking onto the Skype call window and biting back a smile as Mike comes into view. He’s leaning back in his chair with his hands locked over his stomach, eyes closed or maybe staring up at the ceiling. Armin sets his chin his hands and watches Mike silently, though there really isn’t much to watch. Mike is still as a statue aside from the slow rise and fall of his chest with each breath.

It’s these funny little details that Armin pays attention to the most, keeping them locked tight in his mind so he wouldn’t ever forget, lest something happened. He maps out Mike’s face with his lips and fingers and tries to count how many eyelashes he has when he can’t fall asleep. He notices how Mike never really gets into bed until Armin’s settled in his usual spot next to the wall, and even then, Mike is asking if he wants something to drink or more pillows or if he should turn the heat up.

When Mike’s at home and Armin has to sleep in his bed by himself, he always keeps a body pillow next to him to act as a temporary Mike that isn’t quite as large or warm as the real thing. Sometimes he crawls into bed with his laptop and talks to Mike until he falls asleep, waking up to a goodnight and good morning message on Skype and feeling guilty for leaving Mike alone like that. He’s always reassured that it’s okay, that falling asleep happens, and Mike scrapes away the guilt and replaces it with warm, fuzzy feelings to the start the day off with.

Tonight, Armin is sure that Mike would be the first to fall asleep, slouched in his chair and looking more and more relaxed as the seconds tick by. Armin had been staring as he usually did, silent and observant until rousing himself and causing his chair to creak loudly. He can tell that Mike’s heard the sound from the sudden tensing of his shoulders. He sits up as well, eyes locking with Armin’s through the screen and looking a bit bored.

“Go to sleep,” Armin murmurs, folding his arms on his desk and resting his chin on top of them.

“Later,” comes Mike’s terse reply as he leans forward and sighs, so soft that the mic barely picks it up. “I wish I was there with you.”

The sudden confession surprises Armin, eyebrows raising slightly. Mike doesn’t say those kinds of things. Armin can’t remember the last time Mike’s started a sentence with “I wish”. It’s different and a bit strange, but it tugs at Armin’s lips and pulls a smile from them regardless.

“I wish you were here too, but at least we’re talking to each other,” he says, closing his eyes and listening to Mike’s second sigh and the sound of his chair creaking as he shifts his weight. Armin’s eyelids still feel like they are made of cement, and he struggles greatly with his mind to open his eyes again and meet Mike’s stare.

“Go to bed.”

“No.”

“Please.”

Armin frowns as he sits up again slowly, pulling his legs up onto his chair and hugging them to his chest. “But I won’t get to see you anymore.”

Mike’s soft laugh never fails to make Armin’s skin heat up a bit. “Take your laptop to your bed,” he suggests, and Armin does as he says.

He tilts the screen so he can see it from where he lays on his stomach, arms folded under his pillow and providing some support for his head. “Can you see me?”

“I can,” Mike says as he moves onto his own bed, the rustling of sheets and groaning of springs too loud in Armin’s ears.

“I can see you too,” Armin mumbles drowsily, lids drooping as he stares at the mop of messy hair atop a white pillow on his screen. Mike raises his head slightly, setting his chin on the pillow and flashing a sleepy smile.

“Let’s sleep, Armin.”

He doesn’t want to. He wants to stay up until the sun rises, until he can catch a bus and head to Mike’s place and stay there forever. He wants to sleep with strong arms around him and wake up with Mike’s scruff tickling his nose. He just wants Mike, and if his dreams guaranteed Mike in them, then maybe he would sleep easier.

Even so, Armin agrees with a silent nod, pressing his fingers to his lips and blowing Mike a kiss. “Goodnight. I love you.”

Mike returns the kiss and Armin’s heart squeezes in a nice way as it always does when Mike whispers,

_“I love you too.”_


End file.
